TOSSI

Lyn Hamilton-Hunter www.tossi.org.nz

The cat conversation

National media coverage on the topic of feral cats has recently ballooned, including Paddy Gower’s powerful head-on reporting on the subject. Next year, the government will review its Predator Free 2050 strategy by opening public consultation on including feral cats in the strategy. In addition, there is a petition for a National Cat Control Act, similar to that for dogs. Why should all this be considered?

Cats are apex predators – they kill between 10 and 20 animals a day. They are as problematic and destructive as stoats, targeting chicks, birds, eggs, skinks, geckos, bats, wētā, frogs and fish. The number of native animals they kill is in the millions. The latest Stats NZ findings state that 75 per cent all of native species are now classed as threatened to extinction or close to being threatened to extinction.

All cats play a major role in this massive decline. On top of all that, they are carriers of toxoplasmosis, a confirmed cause of death in Hector’s and Māui dolphins (DOC) as well as having a detrimental effect on pregnant women and ewes. This is also a local issue. Rangers and volunteers are working tirelessly at Tāwharanui dealing with feral cat incursions. Despite being a designated sanctuary for the natives listed above, there is an uphill battle to capture the feral and stray cats that roam in and out, or live and breed in the park. Efforts have been ramped up recently by the rangers and volunteers, and with use of new technology and clever trapping, a lot of success has been achieved. There has been a whole month of no sightings on cameras. But constant surveillance is necessary, as they will be back! There are also plans to begin capturing the feral cats before they reach the park. Adjacent land is a major source of the incursions, the native species are being eradicated on that land too. The amount of time, resources and finance needed to deal with these predators, as well as eradicating mustelids and rats, is huge.

This conversation is highly emotive and divisive, in part because there are 1.4 million pet cat owners. Pet cats are an important part of a human’s life, providing companionship and regarded as a family member. No argument there but … yes, there is a but … domestic cats are the source of stray and feral cats. They are estimated to kill 1.12 million natives a year. Wandering cats are at a great risk of car strike and fighting, keeping them home 24/7 keeps them safe and, by default, this helps save our beautiful native taonga. One thing we can all do is to be responsible companion cat owners. Auckland Council and SPCA have guidelines for this. Keep your cat safe at home 24/7, de-sexed, microchipped and well-loved. And let’s support the action to have feral cats as part of Predator Free NZ 2050.

Info: news@tossi.org.nz